Who doesn’t love a challenge? Well, it’s not me, even though I’ve tried hard over the last two decades to defeat a dominant family “competitiveness gene.”

COMPLETED

Once again, it’s that time of year when reading challenges are being posted and I see so many I’d like to join, my head spins. In fact, I’m an addict and I’m going to prove it by joining the Reading Challenge Addict challenge at the “In-Flight” level of 11-15 completed challenges.

Two years ago, I signed up for several and, although I completed most of them, I didn’t blog about the results. This year, I’ll do better!

So here’s a master list of the challenges I’ve taken on so far, and I’ll update this as I add more (although I don’t think you’ll get updates). I’m going to set up a page for each challenge and update those separate pages as I go but, again, I don’t think you’ll see any of those reports, so I’ll be sure to note any ‘challenges met’ in my monthly summary of books I’ve read.

1. Reading Challenge Addict
COMPLETED

2. 150+ Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

3. Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

4. Mount TBR Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

5. Vintage Mysteries Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

6. Bucket List Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

7. Back to the Classic Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

8. A Classics Challenge with a Twist
FAILED TO COMPLETE

9. New Authors Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

10. eBook Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

11. Cruisin’ through the Cozies Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

12. TBR Double Dare
COMPLETED

13. TBR Pile Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

14. Off the Shelf Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

15. 12 in ’12 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

16. Dead End Follies Smooth Criminals Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

17. What’s In a Name Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

18. Reading the (2011) Award Winners Challenge
COMPLETED

19. Mixing It Up Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

20. Wish List Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

21. Tea & Books Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

22. War Through the Generations Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

23. Southern Literature Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

24. European Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

25. Evie’s TBR Pile Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

26. Reading Shakespeare: A Play a Month
FAILED TO COMPLETE

27. Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

28. Battle of the Prizes – American
COMPLETED

29. Battle of the Prizes – British
COMPLETED

30. Read Canadian Award Winners Challenge
COMPLETED

31. First in a Series Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

32. Finishing the Series Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

33. ‘I Want More’ 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

34. 2nds Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

35. Truth in Fiction Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

36. Classic Doubles 2012 Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

37. The Illustrated Year Picture Book Challenge
COMPLETED

38. The 3660 Minute Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

39. The (Newbery & Printz) Award Winning Reads Challenge
COMPLETED

40. The A – Z Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

41. The Short Story 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

42. The 2012 Chunkster Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

43. The Time Travel Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

44. The Memorable Memoir Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

45. South Asian Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

46. The Read Your Name Challenge 2012
COMPLETED

47. The Sir Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

48. The Find the Cover Challenge 2012
COMPLETED

49. The Mammoth Book 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

50. The Books I Started But Didn’t Finish 2012 Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

51. Books Won 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

52. The Global 2012 Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

53. Books That Made Me Love Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

54. Color Coded Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

55. Short Story Reading Challenge
FAILED TO COMPLETE

56. Australian Women Authors Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

57. Birth Year Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

58. Books Published in the First Years of My Life Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

59. A-Z Double Whammy Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

60. Read Amazon Best of 2011 Challenge
COMPLETED

61. Criminal Plots Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

62. Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

63. Books in Translation Reading Challenge
COMPLETED

NOT COMPLETED

Wow – the last time I checked, this challenge was only for 100 books – and I thought I was laughing. BUT, this year Amy at My Overstuffed Bookshelf has upped the ante to 150. GULP!

But since I’ve read over 120 books in each of the past two years, I’m going to try it: 150 – pure and simple.

1. Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bentock
2. Sabine’s Notebook by Nick Bantock
3. The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock
4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
5. Dove Creek by Paula Marie Coomer
6. Northwest Corner by John Burnham Schwartz
7. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
8. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
9. The Virgin Cure by Ami MacKay
10. The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett
11. Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker
12. The Antagonist by Lynn Coady
13. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
14. A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare
15. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
16. Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell
17. The Secret River by Kate Grenville
18. Searching for the Secret River by Kate Grenville
19. A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek
20. A Shortage of Bodies by Dr. Gary D. McKay
21. Seeing Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo and Robert Llewellyn
22. Chickens, Mules, and Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead
23. My Financial Career and Other Follies by Stephen Leacock
24. The Return of Captain Emmett by Elizabeth Speller
25. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
26. A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler
27. Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyen
28. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
29. Broken Music by Marjorie Eccles
30. White River Junctions by Dave Norman
31. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
32. The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe
33. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
34. A Suitable Boy by Bikram Seth
35. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
36. Winnie & Gurley: The Best-Kept Family Secret by Robert G. Hewitt
37. Gillespie & I by Jane Harris
38. A Place for Johnny Bill by Ruth Juline Bishop
39. The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen
40. Oxford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman
41. Promise Me Eternity by Ian Fox
42. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
43. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
44. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
45. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
46. Notes to My Mother-in-Law by Phyllida Law
47. African Love Stories edited by Ama Ata Aidoo
48. Murder: A Crafty Business by Lila Philips
49. Manners for Women by Mrs. Humphrey
50. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham
51. One Lonely Night by Mickey Spillane
52. The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard
53. A Dog’s Journey by W. Bruce Cameron
54. Lonesome Hero by Fred Stenson
55. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha CHristie
56. UContent by Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo
57. Falling Into Green by CHer Fischer
58. 419 by Will Ferguson
59. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
60. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
61. The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesay
62. An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd
63. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
64. The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
65. Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie
66. Heading Home by Lawrence Scanlan
67. The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
68. The Absolutist by John Boynr
69. A Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
70. The Tragedy of Z by Ellery Queen
71. Firmin by Sam Savage
72. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear
73. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie
74. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
75. QBI (Queen’s Bureau of Investigation) by Ellery Queen
76. Practical Jean by Trevor Cole
77. The Dolls’ House by Rumer Godden
78. A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence
79. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
80. The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill
81. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
82. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
83. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
84. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
85. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
86. Yellowthread Street by William Marshall
87. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
88. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
89. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
90. The Canadian Food Guide by Pierre and Janet Berton
91. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
92. The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston
93. Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud Montgomery
94. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpoole
95. Twenty-Six by Leo McKay Jr.
96. Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn
97. The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Pates
98. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
99. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
100. The Stranger by Albert Camus
101. Three Junes by Julia Glass
102. Death at the President’s Lodging by Michael Innes
103. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
104. The Beggar’s Garden by Michael Christie
105. The Birth House by Ami McKay
106. Holes by Louis Sachar
107. Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh
108. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau
109. Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
110. Halfway House by Ellery Queen
111. The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
112. Mr. Sandman by Barbara Gowdy
113. The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart
114. The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje
115. The Old Man & the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
116. Mordecai: The Life & Times by Charles Foran
117. Bush Studies by Barbara Baynton

Picture Books:
118. Dog in Boots by Greg Gormley, illustrated by Roberta Angaramo
119. I Want My Hat Back written & illustrated by Jon Klassen
120. Coyote Sings to the Moon by Thomas King, illustrated by Johnny Wales
121. Giraffe & Bird written & illustrated by Rebecca Bender
122. The Market Square Dog by James Herriot, illustrated by Ruth Brown
123. Madeline written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans
124. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert
125. There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen by Sheree Fitch, illustrated by Sydney Smith
126. Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? written and illustrated by Susan A. Shea
127. One Winter Night by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Lynn Ray
128. Curious George by Margret Rey, illustrated by H.A. Rey
129. Fuddles written and illustrated by Frans Vischer
130. Horton Hears a Who written & illustrated by Theodore Seuss
131. Gimme Jimmy by Sherrill S. Cannon
132. A Few Blocks written & illustrated by Cybele Young
133. Harry, the Dirty Dog written by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
134. Eloise written by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight
135. What’s Wrong with Rosie? by Pippa JAgger, illustrated by Gavin Rowe
136. No Roses for Harry written by Gene Zion, illustrated Margaret Bloy Graham
137. Danny’s First Snow written & illustrated by Leonid Gore
138. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening written Robert Frost & illustrated by Susan Jeffers
139. Jillian Jiggs and the Great Big Snow written & illustrated by Phoebe Gilman

COMPLETED

Briana over at The Book Vixen is challenging readers to read more books in 2012 than they did in 2011. Since I just set that goal of 150 books, this is a no-brainer.

Since I estimate that I’ll have read about 130 books by the end of this year, I’m joining in at the “I’m on Fire” level of 16 or more additional books in 2012.

YEAR-END UPDATE
In 2012, I read a total of 139 books, of which 22 were picture books.
My 2011 total was 123.

Bev at My Reader’s Block knows my (not so) secret vice: picking up books everywhere I go. My TBR stack has been growing like sourdough starter (we used to call that ‘monster dough’) and it’s time to cut back on my library holds and lavish some attention on my own books.

I’m going in at the Mt. Kilimanjaro level of 50 books and tame this double-stacked monster in 2012.

1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
2 MacBeth by William Shakespeare
3. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
4. My Financial Career and Other Follies by Stephen Leacock
5. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
6. A Jest of God by Maragaret Laurence
7. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
8. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau
9. The Canadian Food Guise by Pierre & Janet Berton
10. Heading Home: On Starting a New Life in a Country Place by Laurence Scanlan

11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
12. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
13. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
14. Jane Eyre
15. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
16. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
17. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
18. The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Oates
19. The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill

20. The Mapping of Love & Death by Jacqueline Winspear
21. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie
22. Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie
23. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie
24. Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
25. The Tragedy of ‘Z’ by Ellery Queen
26. Halfway House by Ellery Queen Read December 2012
27. QBI (Queen’s Bureau of Investigation) by Ellery Queen
28. One Lonely Night by Mickey Spillane

29. A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek
30. The Market Square Dog by James Herriott
31. Coyote Sings to the Moon by Thomas King
32. One Winter Night

UNSUCCESSFUL!

Bev at My Reader’s Block is a great fan of mysteries published before 1960, as am I. These are the dime novels my dad read and that I cut my reading teeth on. For 2012, she’s offering a variety of ways to meet her Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge and I’m going to take on the Lethal Location theme.

1. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (1929)

2. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie (1931)

3. The Cape Cod Tavern Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1934)

4. Halfway House by Ellery Queen (1936)

5. Death at the President’s Lodging by Michael Innes (1936)

Jamie over at The Eclectic Bookshelf (love that name) is hosting an intriguing challenge this year: a personal Bucket List of books I’ve wanted to read (most for years) but haven’t gotten around to.

I’m entering at the “Mid-Sized Sedan” level of 8 books. But, hey, one of these is supposedly the longest novel available in English, so cut me some slack.

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
2. London by Edward Rutherford
3. Collected Stories of Carol Shields
4. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
5. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
6. How Green Was My Valley by Richard LLewellyn (a re-read)
7. Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
8. Memoirs by Pierre Elliott Trudeau

I’ve been kept busy with family matters over the last couple of months and really fallen behind in getting book reviews posted. I hope to get back on track soon but in the meantime, here’s a brief summary of my month’s reading.

1. Altamont Augie by Richard Barager
My pick for my book of the month. In the late sixties, supporters of the war in Vietnam and anti-war protestors clashed violently and began to form the “New Right” and the ”New Left” in America. This is a provocative and thought-provoking look at the issues of that decade around which the last century pivoted for that country. Here’s my full review.

2. Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christine Bjork
Linnea is a young European girl who takes a trip to Paris to learn about Monet’s water-lily paintings. Lovely illustrations and solid art history background info. For grades 3 – 6.

3. Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
A 1937 Hercule Poirot mystery. The dumb witness is the dog, whose ball was thought to have tripped his mistress and caused a non-fatal tumble down the stairs. Before Poirot receives her letter expressing her doubt as to the accidental nature of the fall, the said mistress has died. Classic Christie.

4. I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters by Rabih Alameddine
Every chapter in this fictional memoir of a young woman raised in Beirut is Chapter 1. Interesting presentation and great insight into life in Lebanon.

5. A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton
First in the Alex McKnight series set in Paradise, Michigan. Likable protagonist, decent mystery and appealing setting in upstate Michigan, near Sault Saint Marie. Deservedly won the 1999 Edgar award for Best First Novel by an American Author.

6. From This Wicked Patch of Dust by Sergio Troncoso
Semi-autobiographical novel set in an American border town, where Mexican immigrants strive to teach their four children to forsake the drugs and gangs of their neighborhood. “Spanning four decades, this is a story of a family’s struggle to become American and yet not be pulled apart by a maelstrom of cultural forces.”

7. Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner
Vaclav & Lena, children of Russian immigrants, meet in an ESL class in Brighton Beach and become fast friends. Together, they plan Vaclav’s great magic act, but then Lena disappears.

8. Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
First published in 1931, this is Taylor’s first novel and introduces the “Codfish Sherlock”, handyman Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 books. Fun, easy to read, and full of Cape Cod flavor.

9. A Small Death in the Great Glen by A.D. Scott
Verra Scottish mystery, set in the 1956 Highlands and featuring staff of a small-town weekly newspaper. This would have been difficult to get through unless I’d had some exposure to Scottish dialect and pronunciation. At times, I was frustrated by the slow plot development, but by the end of the book I felt as if I was leaving a group of friends.

10. The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson
Set in 1885 Richmond, Virginia and based on an actual crime, this novel delves into the trial of a man for the death of a young woman whose body was found in the local reservoir. I felt it couldn’t decide whether to be fiction (with perhaps a plot?) or true-crime reporting. Interesting for the details of nineteenth century sexual mores.

11. A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
A bitter truth is that favourite authors don’t always deliver to the high expectations we have for them. This Bess Crawford adventure followed her to WWI France for the first time, but the mystery seemed contrived.

12. Hotel Bosphorus by Esmahan Aykol
First in the Kati Hirschel mystery series, set in Istanbul, Turkey, it suffers in translation and contains gratuitous sex scenes.

Links for my Canadian readers:
Altamont Augie
Linnea in Monet’s Garden
Dumb Witness: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
I The Divine
A Cold Day in Paradise
From This Wicked Patch of Dust
Vaclav & Lena
Cape Cod Mystery
A Small Death in the Great Glen: A Novel
The Reservoir
A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery
Hotel Bosphorus

Kindle editions:
Altamont Augie
Dumb Witness: Hercule Poirot Investigates
A Cold Day in Paradise (Alex McKnight Mysteries)
Vaclav & Lena: A Novel
A Small Death in the Great Glen
The Reservoir
A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery
Hotel Bosphorus (Kati Hirschel Murder Mystery)